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Nearly 120 pharmacies in Georgia will soon be selling Botanical Sciences' medical cannabis products

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GLENNVILLE, Ga. —

Georgia will soon become the first state in the country to offer medical cannabis products at independent pharmacies.

Nearly 120 pharmacies will be getting medication from Botanical Sciences, a medical cannabis company, which has a farm in Glennville.

WJCL 22 News got to take a tour of the farm to see how medical cannabis products are made.

"Our focus is on the quality of the product through and through," said Chase Bradshaw, the chief operating officer for Botanical Sciences.

We learned the process of producing, from seed to sale, takes several months.

"Everything (starts) from seeds ... seeds that we create ourselves," Bradshaw said.

The seeds turn into seedlings, and then the plants enter a four-week vegetative cycle. That leads to a nine-week flowering cycle. The medicine derived from the plants comes from the flowers.

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"From there, it gets harvested, converted into oil, and then that oil is used to go into all of our formulations of products," Bradshaw said.

Everything on Botanical Sciences' farm is grown in a carefully controlled environment featuring plenty of light, water and airflow. It is a complicated job, but one Bradshaw finds worth it.

"I'm here seven days a week because I choose to be," he said. "The hope and relief that it's providing currently and the future hope and relief that's going to be providing is...words can't even explain it."

Botanical Sciences is producing tincture drops and lotion, as well as capsules.

Patients who can be treated with medical cannabis include those with cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, Alzheimer's and more.

Doctors say for many people, medical cannabis is a safer option for treatment.

"Whenever we have an opportunity for something that's more natural, something that's not habit-forming like an opiate, it does give us a great alternative to treat patients," said Botanical Sciences founder Dr. Robin Fowler.

Fowler told WJCL 22 News he expects their medical cannabis products to be available in independent pharmacies in late October or early November.

In order to purchase medical cannabis products in Georgia, you must be a medical marijuana card holder.

Botanical Sciences has several of its own dispensaries throughout the state of Georgia, including one in Pooler.

GLENNVILLE, Ga. (WSAV) — Donnie Epperson is known for telling stories and playing many roles, including Santa Claus and Johnny Appleseed.

His latest character was a scarecrow on Halloween, reading to a fifth-grade class at South Tattnall Elementary School in Glennville.

Most see the man behind the costume, the man known as “Papa Donnie”.

“You can be in a restaurant or a grocery store, and you can walk in and you hear some child from 15 years ago say, ‘Hey, Papa Donnie!’ It gets to you,” he said.

Those children having bonded with “Papa Donnie”, whom they know from his many appearances and his former maintenance job with the Tattnall County School System.

21 years of memories. History — plastered on the walls of his office.

“Those kids, they get to your heart and especially those four-year-olds. I wouldn’t take nothing for that job… nothing in the world.”

Many of those students know about his previous life as a soldier when he was fighting for his country.

He joined the Army in February 1972.

“Vietnam was winding down, and they had stopped sending people over there. They sent me to Germany instead.”

He spent over three years there before leaving the military.

“I was working at a factory and I said, this is going nowhere. So, I jumped right back in that saddle again. Before I took off, I got married and had a son on the way.”

He spent time in the United States for several years before he was off to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Donnie retired from the military in December 1994 after 23 years of service.

He doesn’t talk much about what he saw in the Middle East, but he does remember it as a positive experience because of the brothers he made along the way.

Those brothers are honored now inside his home, his personal museum of memories.

“I’ve got my office outside. I’ve got the walls plastered with pictures. I look at those pictures and think and see some of these guys. And you remember the days you had them, and they’re not there anymore… it hurts.”

But, they will never be forgotten, and Donnie makes sure of that.

He honors them in a special way each Christmas through Wreaths Across America.

“That cemetery that’s right here in Glennville. You just drive through that place, and you look at all those graves out there… all the people that served our country and paid their life for it. As long as you say that person’s name, they’re not forgotten. It is worse to be forgotten more than anything. So as long as you can say that name, you’re not forgotten.”

Service — something he believes many people take for granted.

“I love my country. I love serving my country. I think everybody should do it. I love my veterans and all of those that have given their life for this country. I think we should honor them a little bit more than we do.”

Whether it is in a field of fallen heroes or in a classroom dressed as a book character, Donnie Epperson’s goal is to do one thing — make people smile and serve others.

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division, a record setting swallow-tailed kite roost was found last month on the Altamaha river near Glennville by wildlife technician, Andy Day. Wildlife biologist Tim Keyes then visited the roost by boat. It’s not clear how long it has been there, but the finding is the largest swallow-tail roost documented in Georgia.

From their graceful, swivel-tailed flights to vivid black-and-white markings, swallow-tailed kites are must-see raptors. Which makes the recent discovery of the largest swallowtail roost documented in Georgia even more eye-catching.

Following up on a satellite-tagged kite, DNR wildlife technician Andy Day found the roost in early August along the Altamaha River south of Glennville. A count by helicopter totaled 612 kites.

Wildlife biologist Tim Keyes first visited the roost by boat. “It was like swirling kettles of kites,” he said.

Each year about 150-200 pairs of swallow-tailed kites nest in Georgia. Most of these birds, a species of conservation concern in the State Wildlife Action Plan, nest on the lower stretches of the Satilla and Altamaha rivers. Some nests are scattered along other south Georgia rivers.

After nesting and before the kites migrate to South America, in late summer the birds gather in roosts at night and feed by day on insects over fields and other open areas. In southeast Georgia, the foraging can involve large groups. The Altamaha roost, which is on private land in tall trees along drainages and the river, feeds “some of those big foraging aggregations that people like to see,” Keyes said.

It’s unknown if the roost is primarily made up of kites that nested in Georgia and South Carolina, or if it includes numerous kites from Florida. During the post-breeding season, some swallowtails fly north for a brief time before migrating south. Nocturnal roosts in Florida can number more than 2,000 kites.

Nor is it clear how long the roost has been there. Gathering sites can shift, Keyes said. “This was a river stretch where we’ve had clusters of roosting kites before.”

What is clear is that as of early August the roost had more swallow-tailed kites in one place than all of the kites counted in an entire day of aerial roost surveys on the Savannah, Ogeechee, Altamaha and Satilla.

“Even combining the river systems,” Keyes said of those late-July surveys from 2009-2011, “we never had 600-plus birds total. Our highest one-day count across all the rivers was under 500 birds.”

“Wild Fact” about swallow-tailed kites from Ethan Hatchett: “Swallow-tailed kites in the U.S. migrate from the Southeast to South America each fall. But the journey requires preparation. From late July into August, areas buzzing with insects – such as pastures and newly mown hayfields in south Georgia – can draw flocks or aggregations of swallow-tailed kites, sometimes 50 or more and often including Mississippi kites. The aerobatic black-and-white swallowtails spend mornings filling up on June beetles (often called June bugs), dragonflies and other insects, most caught and eaten in flight, before winging it south for the winter.”

GLENNVILLE, Ga. (WTOC) - A cherished local business in Glennville is severely damaged after a fire Sunday evening.

Glennville Fire officials say it happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday in the 200 block of South Veterans Boulevard.

The business is known as McCurdy’s on Main, an antique and gift shop. Glennville Fire Chief Dale Barnard says when firefighters arrived on scene, the store was already fully engulfed.

”It’s a heartbreaker for our community,” said Lisa Barry, the owner of McCurdy’s on Main.

McCurdy’s on Main is gone, declared a total loss.

“It was a very hot fire; it was very hard to put out because it was an older house that had been converted,” said Glennville Fire Chief Dale Barnard.

Lisa Barry’s family bought the store almost two decades ago and by all accounts, it had been a Glennville staple since.

“It was very connected to this community, a lot of people shopped there.”

A few things were saved, but with the building unusable... next steps are still up in the air.

”Right now I really don’t know, I feel like we’re still in shock.”

They sold gifts and other items brides would need. The owner said she knew what the whole town was getting for Christmas, just as her mother drew it up.

”My mom started this store and you know this was her dream, this was her baby.”

Lisa loves this place... her store and city, saying the people of Glennville have supported her through the worst of times for years.

“The support of a small town when something like this happens, it’s immeasurable.”

In the last handful of years, Lisa’s lost her dad, mom, and brother... yet today with her business still smoking, she remained optimistic... an outlook nothing short of incredible.

“For me, my hope isn’t built on anything you could put your hands on, for me you know. I think everybody wakes up every day and you have a decision, either you’re going to be happy or you’re going to be sad and for me you know you just keep rolling on.”

The foundation of her life built on something that can’t be swept away... that hope, shining through the rubble and ash motivating us to take a lesson from Lisa and let hope be the flame that burns brightest.

Chief Barnard says multiple agencies helped to put out the blaze, totaling around 35 firefighters. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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GLENNVILLE, Ga. (WSAV) – A large fire broke out at McCurdy’s on Main Sunday evening.

Witnesses tell News 3 the building, located on S Veterans Blvd., caught fire just after 5:50 p.m.

A gift shop staple of Glennville, started by a mother in the 70’s – given to her daughter – and now gone.

Among the charred pieces of this business beloved in Glennville, Lisa Barry says there are also so many emotions.

“It was total heartbreak, you know. I was here before the fire department got here and my heart just dropped,” said store owner Lisa Barry

Glennville Fire Chief Dale Barnard is calling the building, located on the 200 block of S Veterans Blvd., a total loss.

“All the merchandise is damaged,” says Chief Barnard, “I have not physically been inside the building yet because it’s not to the point where I can go in, but everything seems to be gone.”

The shop that sold purses, among other gifts, was gutted by this fire yesterday. The flames were so intense that the building, a shed, and this van in the parking lot all burned. No one was here when the fire started, Lisa says she’s thankful for that. But the toll of those flames took much more than just the stuff inside.

“It was her baby,” said Barry. “It was the thing she enjoyed more than anything else.”

This store – McCurdy’s – was somewhat a gift to her. Started in the 70s by Lisa’s mom, who simply loved to be a popular part of their small town.

“She enjoyed McCurdy’s, and she enjoyed the community. And just enjoyed having it here for the community,” Barry said.

Chief Barnard says it’s “going to be awhile” before they figure out what caused the fire.

Tougher than seeing what’s left – the decisions that the days ahead will bring. Thankfully, there’s insurance, but not so clear Lisa says is the choice of what’s next.

“It’s a process. So, I’m going to give it a few days and see where to go from here,” Barry said.

Stick with News 3 for updates.